Vacation Is Where I Wanna Be
by Spark Plug x
Summary: Lyra needs a new adventure. Luckily, it involves Proton in a floral shirt and sunglasses. cannonshipping and originalshipping (or nameless shipping) on the side.
1. Chapter 1

**I hate that they call Green blue but whatever I'll deal**

 **Oh shit boi waddup I'm back at it again after like almost 2 years of not writing pokemon fanfiction I am bringing back cannonshipping**

 **I have no clue where this fic is going? Part of me is like 'just make it one long oneshot' but another part is like 'you have too many ideas just break it up' cuz I just wanna overload with proton and lyra in alola being cute. So if you have fun ideas tell them to me because I only have a few**

 **Yeah proton calls lyra 'doll' a lot I dunno why I just like the petname for them**

 **Anyway, I'm also posting this on my AO3 account, _spark_plugx_ , so if you prefer that site, I am on there. **

* * *

Lyra trotted down the street of Goldenrod City, waving at a few people who recognized her. It had been a couple of years since she took down Lance and became Champion, but she had never been the greatest at playing the part. Blue always complained about that—she could be as elusive as Red—but at least she didn't live on top of a freezing cold mountain.

Besides, being stuck in that room during league hours was so boring! Lance was more than happy to continue being champion and who was she to take that away?

She reached her destination, an apartment complex just south of the department store, and continued on her short journey, reaching the room before too long. She knocked twice and swayed back and forth, waiting for the door to open.

"Hey," Proton greeted when he opened the door, not surprised to see Lyra standing there. He walked back into the apartment and Lyra followed, shutting the door. "Give me a second, I was about to hop in the shower after I feed these brats breakfast." He said, referring to the crobat, houndoom, and scizor, that were scattered around the living room.

"I'll feed 'em, go get clean!" Lyra shushed him when he opened his mouth to make a snide remark and pushed him into his bedroom. "C'mon babies, let's eat!" She turned to the pokemon who eagerly followed her to the kitchen for food.

She begin pouring the food, almost laughing to herself at the irony of this all. Who would ever think she'd be here? In Proton's apartment? Feeding his pokemon and treating them like they were her own? Houndoom rubbed his face against her thigh and looked down to his now empty bowl. "Hmm, does your dad let you have seconds?" A quick glance to crobat told her no, he did not. She poured him a little extra food anyway, then had to give the other two extra food because she couldn't spoil one and not spoil them all.

She put the food back and jumped on the couch, stretching out like it was her own. It practically was, she laid on it almost every day.

Her mom had been worried when she found out Lyra had befriended the male. It hadn't helped that she had found out through Blue, who was always dramatic and made it seem like they were dating when he saw them walking around the department store. She had corrected them, explaining that she was the one who sought him out and asked for friendship and that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

Blue and Red still weren't too hot on the friendship. Her mother loved Proton after one dinner with him, mostly because Lyra had declared she was going to go to Hoenn in the midst of the Team Magma and Team Aqua take over, and Proton had immediately shot her down.

" _No way. Stop stressing your mother out."_

She rolled her eyes at that memory, remembering how her mother hugged Proton, thanking the heavens someone was able to talk some sense into her 'little adventurer'. Lyra was a bit offended because hello, she saved an entire region from Proton, but she didn't say anything because she was happy her mother liked him so much.

Lyra sat up, making room for houndoom as he jumped onto the couch and rested his head in her lap, wanting attention. She scratched his chin as she heard the shower shut off.

"So what are the plans for today?" Proton called him his room, getting Lyra's attention.

"Hmm, I dunno," Lyra was getting bored of Johto and Kanto.

"Thought you had some grand plan for today, little adventurer?" He teased, making Lyra glare at his bedroom door. "Stop glaring at the door and think of something to do." She groaned and leaned her head back on the couch, closing her eyes.

What could they do? She was sure there was plenty of activities and festivals going on around the two regions, but it didn't sound appealing to her.

"What's the plan, doll?" She opened her eyes to see Proton looking down at her, green eyes not as scary as when she first saw them in the slowpoke well a few years ago. They were softer and relaxed, beautiful when they weren't constantly caught up in the scowl he had always worn. She reached up and moved his bangs out of his eyes, earning a small but harmless glare from him.

"The boardwalk, I want some ice cream," she decided. They hadn't gone to the beach together in a while and she wanted to see Jasmine.

"Lead the way."

* * *

Lyra's legs dangled off the railing she was sitting on at Professor Oak's lab. She was watching her arcanine and Blue's arcanine herd the tauros, moving them to a larger pasture.

"Hm, they doesn't sound too bad," she heard Red mumble behind her, sitting with his mom, Blue, and Professor Oak, at the table.

"Alola is a beautiful region! I'm about to go there myself, actually!" The professor said and Lyra turned around to face them. "They don't have normal gyms, they do trials and other tasks. It's all deep rooted in their myths and legendary pokemon. It's a sight to see."

"Think we should—"

"—check it out?"

Lyra rolled her eyes at how Red and Blue were able to finish each other's sentences. They were so blind.

"You should. They have different pokemon, even different forms of pokemon we have here!" The professor continued, interesting Lyra more and more. "The pokemon, over time, had to adjust to their climates and thus begin different types. Their vulpixs and ninetails are ice types, and their raichu are part physic. It's incredible!"

A new adventure with new challenges and new pokemon? The excitement of it called out to her. She had to go!

"Looks like you're interested," Blue smirked when he saw Lyra's expression.

"Of course I am! New pokemon, new challenges, a brand new adventure? This is a dream!" She told him with a balled fist. She was so ready to go!

"The three strongest trainers in Kanto and Johto going to take on Alola?" Red's mother smiled as she patted pikachu's head. "They'll be in for quite a shock." She laughed at her own pun and Lyra did too, blushing a little at the compliment. "Would your mom be okay with you going?"

"It's not like she can say no, I would just go anyway," Lyra said, earning a grin from Blue. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled if I said I was taking Proton,"

"You're going to ask him to tag along?" Red questioned, though he didn't say it in a rude or mean tone, just a simple question.

"Uh, duh, he's my best friend and adventure companion. Plus, I don't want to get stuck hanging around you two the whole time! You're both so embarrassing!" She told them with a grin. "All laid back and trying to be super cool but totally over competitive."

"That sounds a little like you as well," Red's mother said and Lyra pouted at her.

"Uncalled for, I'm offended, my heart is broken," she sighed and the professor looked to Blue.

"She gets the dramatics from you, you know," he told his grandson who looked offended before shrugging, agreeing with the older man.

"We don't have to try to be cool, we already are. Well, I am, I can't speak for Red," Blue teased and Red just raised his eyebrows at his childhood rival. Lyra rolled her eyes, Blue totally thought Red was cool, he just didn't want to admit it.

"Anyway, yeah, I'm going to get Proton to come. He's strong and more 'level headed' than I am, according to my mother, and he's fun to be around."

"I'm surprised that 'he is also super cute' didn't get added to that list," Blue said and Lyra's face went as red as the bows on her pigtails.

"Shut up!" She exclaimed, embarrassed. Proton was really cute, really, really, _really_ cute, but they were just friends; unfortunately. "He's my best friend, his looks aren't a factor in the matter."

"I think it's a good idea. You'll have more fun with him than by yourself or with us," Red said, ignoring the two's little spat.

"Good! Send me the dets professor on when we're going when you guys sort it out!" She shot them finger guns before turning and whistling loudly for her arcanine. He ran at the fence full speed before stopping right before it. She climbed onto his back with ease—it was so much easier once she grew a few inches—and pointed forward. "Proton's house!"

* * *

"So what's on your mind?" Proton questioned as he and Lyra walked down the street in Goldenrod. His houndoom was walking ahead of them as they followed, sipping drinks Proton had gotten at a vending machine.

"What?" Lyra questioned, wondering how he knew she was distracted. She had been so excited to tell Proton all about Alola, but when she got to his door, the excitement drained a bit. What if he didn't want to go with her? It was a far way away, and what if he thought it was too much? They would be traveling together for who knows how long and sharing each other's space, what if the idea of that turned him away?

"You obviously have something on your mind, spit it out, doll," he could tell when she was overthinking something. Her bottom lip was red from her biting it and she had barely drank any of her lemonade.

"The Alola region," she told him, earning a confused look. "You've heard about it, right?" She questioned and he nodded his head.

"Yeah, they have different forms of our pokemon and they do weird trials instead of gyms? They just got a league. Why are we talking about it?"

"The professor was talking about it earlier and it sounds super cool, Red and Blue are even going. New pokemon and challenges are what make a great adventure!" She told him and he didn't look as into it as she was. He actually looked a little disappointed?

"Ah, so you're leaving for a grand adventure?" He questioned, putting his poker face back on.

"Well, I was hoping you'd want to come with me?" She asked him, feeling the heat coming to her face. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, being so far away from home. Plus, I dunno how long we'll be there or what we'll do or if you even want to be my travel buddy for it. I just don't want to go on another adventure alone."

"Ethan and Silver didn't want to go?" He still had his poker face on but Lyra knew better. He was still a little disappointed, she couldn't figure out why.

"I didn't ask them. You're my adventure companion, not them," Lyra shook her head. "I don't want to get stuck following after Red and Blue either. They're like older brothers, which is cool and all, but they're so embarrassing. Plus, they flirt all the time and don't even notice, who could be that blind?"

"I know someone…" He muttered, rolling his eyes. "You sure you want me to come with you? Have you thought this through?"

"Of course I do! Unless you don't want to come, which I understand. I know I can be excessive so spending that much time with me might be ann—"

"I'll go, doll, and stop freaking out," he ended her ramble, making her smile.

"For real?!" She exclaimed and he nodded his head before she hugged him tightly, squealing. "Oh my mew, we're going to have a blast! It's supposed to be so beautiful there! I wonder if they have different kinds of berries? Oh man, imagine the food, I bet it'll be delicious!" She pulled away from the hug but held onto his arm, keeping close to him. "I've been wanting to spice up my team. Ooh! I bet there's some wicked cool pokemon for you too!"

Proton nodded his head, a small smile on his face.

* * *

"Blegh," Blue groaned, hunched over the railing. Red was at his side, smirking as he rubbed Blue's back. "Don't pity me," he told Red, but didn't try to swat his hand away.

"Since when did you get seasick?" Lyra asked, though she was in no position to be mocking him since she was in the same positon he was, hunched over the railing trying not to throw up.

"The waves are super rough!" Blue exclaimed and Lyra whined as they hit another rough patch in the currents, holding onto the railing tightly. She tensed up for a second when she felt a hand on her back.

"Relax, it's just me," Proton said, leaning down so she could hear him over the waves. "We're almost there," he moved his hand up and down her back, hoping he was helping. He didn't like seeing her so uncomfortable. She whined but held it together long enough to get to the port. Her legs were shaky so Proton let her lean on him while he carried their two bags.

"Hau'oli City," Red stated while Blue regained his composure. "Four islands in total."

"It's a lot to see and to do. Reminds you of the old days, right?" Blue grinned at Red and Pikachu and Lyra rolled her eyes at them.

"Let's go!" Lyra exclaimed, feeling better now that she was on land. "There's so much to do, so much to see!" Proton watched her twirl around. "Geez I'm glad we got new clothes," she sighed and fanned herself off, already hot.

She had her hair in pigtails like always, but her hat was gone, replaced with a pair of sunglasses with a red floral pattern on the sides of them. Her old overalls were replaced with a looser, lighter pair that hung off her and a red and white stripped t-shirt underneath, rolled a bit at the sleeves. She looked cute, but then again, she always looked cute.

Lyra had wanted to stick him in some horrible floral print shirt and bright pink pants. He turned her down and wore grey jeans and let her roll them up some to make her happy and a blue stripped shirt that had weird floral patterns in the blue. He kept his sunglasses on his head, keeping his bangs out of his face.

"Gramps is visiting the professor on this island then he said he was heading to some library on another island," Blue explained, not seeming very interesting. "Guess that's why he went on the boat before us."

Lyra pulled out her dex and opened the map, clicking on the city to get a more detailed view. Proton leaned over her shoulder, looking at it as well. "So my mom and I sat up for like, three nights straight checking out all these brochures and websites," she turned to grin at Proton, "we're going to be tourists!"

"A nice change of pace," Proton had been looking forward to this trip. No one here really knew of team rocket first hand, none of them knew who he was, it was a refreshing feeling. He smiled at her and noticed the pink tint to her cheeks when she realized how close their faces were. He pulled away and avoided Blue or Red's eyes. "Where to first then?"

* * *

"I'm stuffed," Lyra sighed, leaning against Proton as they walked down the sidewalk that night. "Malasadas are so good. I can't live without them anymore," Proton put his arm around her shoulder and Lyra smiled at him. "Day one of vacation and I already love this place. Apparently, they have rider pagers here? We can call pokemon to move boulders or smash rocks or fly us places. We don't have to have those pokemon on our teams."

"That's really convenient," he nodded his head as they walked by the beach. "Makes it easier to have a team you really want."

"Exactly," Lyra replied, scrolling through her dex. "There's so much to see and to do, wonder how we'll do it all?"

"Is there a rush to go back?" Proton questioned. "I'm fine staying here as long as it takes to do whatever you want to do. Adventures should never be rushed."

"You're right," he felt her lean against him more, both stopping to look at the ocean. He enjoyed her warmth, feeling chilly in the night air.

"Thanks…for finding me again," he looked away, embarrassed. "I don't know why you decided to track me down and befriend me of all people, but I'm glad you did."

"Me too. I knew when we first met that we were going to be best friends, I had a feeling!" Her heart raced.

"Lyra you cried a little when we first met," he chuckled as she pulled away and punched his shoulder.

"I did notttttttttt!" She whined loudly. "I felt bad for those slowpokes and then I saw you and I—" she stopped herself from admitting that she thought he was cute. For one, it was embarrassing, and two, he was still cute and she would have to admit that she still found him attractive. And that she wanted to kiss him and date him.

"And you?" He questioned, smirking at her like he knew what she was going to say. "Because when I first saw you, my first thought was 'wow what a stupid hat'." He laughed as she stood there with an open mouth.

Mew, she really loved his laugh. It was so perfect, she wished she heard it more.

"Funny, when I first say you all I could think about how dumb your hair looked," she said and he stopped laughing as she started. "H-HEY!" She squealed when his hands ran along her side, tickling her, before he picked her up, heading off to the hotel they were staying at. "Put me down!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you over my ugly hair, doll," he teased, keeping his tight hold on her. This girl made him feel so light. He couldn't remember a time when he smiled so much and felt so happy. It made him want to groan at the cliché of it all.

"It's much better now!" She ruffled his hair and he almost leaned into the touch but stopped himself.

It was going to be a long vacation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the delay I kinda lost my job so that took up some time. And by 'kinda' I mean the place shut down so I've been cleaning up and breaking down shelves and fun stuff but it's all done so I'm back!**

 **Some parts feel rushed but maybe that's just me? there's just some things I don't want to focus on too much on. Forgive me for any game mistakes, it's been a minute since I've played through the story and I have to keep going back to the game for references.**

 **Urg this chapter is boring but I have more action and fun stuff planned, promise! I just gotta get things set in motion**

* * *

"Mew…" Proton mumbled, looking at the rack of brochures at the Tourist Bureau. There were brochures for surfing, parasailing, wailmer sightings, rock climbing, lapras racing, and way more than his mind could handle. If Lyra made him do all of that and more, he might not make it back from this vacation.

"See anything interesting?" Lyra spoke up from behind him, ride pager in her hand. "Lookie what the lady gave me, this might come in handy."

"It's good to be prepared. No, I don't think I'm too interested in these activities," he turned to look at her, trying to forget about the brochures. "What's the game plan, doll? Did you want to try the island trials?"

Lyra looked off to the side, thinking about it. "Actually, no, not really. Is that okay?"

"Really?" Proton questioned, a little surprised. Lyra had always seemed eager to go after the next challenge if it meant getting stronger.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's fun and all, but, I've got sixteen badges sitting on my dresser at home, you know?" She questioned, hoping he would understand and not think she was bragging. "I want to be able to go wherever I want to go and just enjoy my time here. I kinda missed out of a few things back home because I was always going to the next gym."

Proton nodded his head as she spoke, seeing where she was coming from. The trials were probably fun, but not to someone who battled all the time. "I understand. Vacations are for relaxing and trying different things."

"Exactly!" Her eyes lit up and Proton felt his heart melt a little.

The things this girl did to him.

So annoying.

"I'm glad you understand. It'll just be nice for once to be a tourist and not have people battle me left or right and to just wonder around without a clear end in sight," she headed towards the exit of the building and he followed, putting his sunglasses on once they got outside. "Red and Blue are at the battle tree, so I figured we could visit there eventually. I want to go to the Mallie Gardens too, so that'll be a fun adventure one day. You sure you don't have anything you want to do?" Lyra turned to look at him through her sunglasses, cheeks already red from the sun.

"You need to put on sunblock, for one," he said and her cheeks got redder as she pulled off her rucksack to get the sunblock out. He chuckled, making her frown, and looked around the city. "Why does everyone wear floral patterned clothing? Isn't that just a tourist thing?"

"Very tropical. They do it in Hoenn too apparently," Lyra said as she rubbed sunblock on her face. "Or maybe they're all tourists? The Professor said that the professor here doesn't even wear a shirt."

Proton's face scrunched up at that.

"The hell does he wear then?" He questioned, imagining an old man running around shirtless with a terrible sunburn.

"Shorts and a lab coat. He's pretty young though, so I don't think it's a terrible sight," Lyra laughed at Proton's disturbed face and continued to apply sunblock. "What? Were you imagining Professor Oak running around shirtless?"

"Ew, like I need that mental image!" He exclaimed, shaking his head as if it would get the image out of his mind. "You're so mean."

"Says the cruelest of all the Rockets," Lyra mocked, squirting some sunblock into the palm of her hand. "C'mere, gotta put some sunblock on your face. You don't want red cheeks clashing with your green hair."

"I was the meanest and scariest though. I'm perfectly capable of—" Proton stopped mid-sentence as Lyra rubbed her hands against his cheeks, spreading the sunblock around. He felt hot, like he was getting sunburned as she rubbed it in. He felt a little like a child but he couldn't get angry with Lyra over it. It felt nice for someone to take care of him.

"Your skin is warm already, I hope you aren't already burned," Lyra commented, fingers lingering a little longer than needed before she pulled them away.

"Probably because you were rubbing your hands all over my face, doll," he muttered but she paid him no mind, already walking off to her next destination at a rapid pace. Proton barely caught a glimpse of her balled fists and red ears, embarrassment all over her face.

He smirked and followed after her.

"Where to now?" He asked as she walked down the sidewalk.

"Off to meet the professor Kukui, of course!" Lyra exclaimed as Proton walked in step beside her now. "He's just on the outskirts of the city, so it won't take us too long. Professor Oak said he wanted to meet me. Maybe we'll get to see some cool new pokemon along the way."

* * *

"Aw, what is that?" Lyra questioned, looking at the Yungoos that was in front of her and Proton. "It's kind of ugly now that I really look at it…"

"What a cool new pokemon," Proton said sarcastically as the pokemon growled at them. "Can it understand us?" They looked at each other before looking back at the pokemon, noticing how aggressive it was becoming. "Mew.." Proton groaned as he grabbed Lyra's hand and ran as the pokemon charged them.

"We didn't do anything to it!" Lyra screamed as she ran, checking behind her to see it still chasing them. What the hell kind of demon was this thing?! She wanted to fight it, but no way was she fast enough to call out one of her pokemon before it got to them.

"Rockruff, use tackle!" She heard a male call and saw a small canine pokemon attack the yungoos, knocking it out. Proton stopped running as they reached the owner of the voice; a tan male wearing sweats and a labcoat. "Haha, you must be Lyra!"

"How did you guess?" She panted, letting go of Proton's hand to sit down in the grass. Was she really this out of shape? Rockruff came over to her and licked her face, its rough fur hitting her cheeks.

"You must be Professor Kukui, thank you for stopping that beast," Proton muttered, embarrassed that it had chased them.

"That's me! Don't worry, those things chase me all the time!" He was loud and very animated.

Perfect.

"It's nice to finally meet the Johto champion," he turned to Lyra and she immediately stood up and held out her hand.

"Awah man, what a terrible first impression! I swear I'm strong enough to fight one of those things, it was just so fast and I wasn't expecting it to try and murder us," she explained hoping this guy didn't think she was an idiot. "I'm Lyra, and this is my best friend, Proton," she said as they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you two! No worries, Red and Blue told me about you already, I was hoping for a fun introduction like that. I wanted to introduce you to our champion, but she's out in the Haina Desert on Ula-ula Island and the service out there isn't the greatest."

Proton looked down at rockruff as the professor continued to talk about the region's pokemon league, something he wasn't too interested in. He leaned down and pet rockruff, surprised at the course fur.

"I'm sure I'll meet her soon, she sounds like a ton of fun!" Lyra grinned, excited to meet the new champ. She glanced at Proton, who was focused on scratching rockruff's belly. "Professor, where are those pokemon located?"

"Rockruff? Right over there, actually," he nodded towards a rocky hill. "Ten Carat Hill is what they call it. It has tons of great Pokémon in there, you should definitely check it out before you head off to the next island. Oh, let me update your pokedex," he took the device from her and pulled something out of his coat pocket, putting into the pokedex. "Alola has a lot of beautiful sights and cool pokemon to keep you busy." The pokedex dinged and he pulled out the chip before handing the device back to her. "I'll let professor Oak know that I met you two. Alola!" He waved before heading back to the shack by the ocean, the rockruff running after him.

"Let's go!" Lyra grabbed onto Proton's arm, pulling him towards the cave. "I don't know if you were paying attention, but the professor said there were a lot of cool pokemon in here, including rockruff. You want one, right?" Lyra grinned at the embarrassed expression Proton had. "It's a cute pokemon, you don't have to be so embarrassed."

"Fine, I want one," Proton said as they approached the entrance of the cave, stones scattered everywhere. He let Lyra drag him into the cave—he would let her drag him anywhere to be honest—and kept her from tripping over the rocks and uneven ground. "Oh look, they have zubats here too," he said as he looked up at the cave's roof, seeing the pokemon.

It was nice to see a familiar pokemon amongst all the new ones they encountered in the cave.

But no rockruffs.

"Where the hell are they?" He questioned as they emerged from the cave to an open area with grass and stones all over.

"Maybe they're in the grass?" Lyra questioned, seeing a few spots rustle. "Let's catch you a rockruff!"

* * *

Saying wasn't always the same as doing Lyra soon found out.

It had been two hours but they hadn't seen one rockruff.

"What the hell?" Lyra questioned, sitting on a rock, taking a break from the hunt. Proton was still in the grass, searching for one. He was determined and he wasn't one to give up easily, an admirable trait. Lyra would be searching too but the shoes she was wearing weren't very forgiving on the rocky ground.

"I'm not leaving until I find one. I'm doing this out of spite now," Proton growled, refusing to let this pokemon get the best of him. He felt the ocean breeze on his neck and took a deep breath. Searching through the grass wasn't working, so he needed to take a different approach. He plopped down on a rock opposite of Lyra and whistled. It was a longshot, but it was how he had gotten his houndour all those years ago.

He waited, then whistled again, before catching rustling in a patch of grass a little ways off. The rustling stopped so he whistled again. This time a rockruff poked its head out of the grass at the whistle. It looked at Proton before it begin to trot over.

Was this actually working?

"Hey there," Proton greeted it in the nicest voice he had, hand slowly tightening around the great ball he held. The pokemon stopped in front of him and he hesitated, wondering how he was going to throw the ball before it got scared and ran away.

Another whistle started, this time more high pitched and a little shaky. He and the rockruff both looked at Lyra, who looked at the pokemon before looking back at Proton. He got the hint and threw the ball, hoping that was enough to catch it. The whistling stopped and both of them held their breath as the ball shook back and forth before clicking.

"YEAH!" Lyra exclaimed, jumping up.

"Finally!" Proton exclaimed and scooped the ball up, clicking it onto his belt. "That only took forever."

"All that matters is that you caught it. Great idea, partner," Lyra held up her hand for a high five and beamed when Proton slapped her hand.

"Thanks, and thanks for helping me with that. That was a team effort," he told her, making her smile bigger. Handing out compliments wasn't part of his nature, but it came easily with Lyra. A lot of things came easily with her.

"I wasn't going to let it get away," she told him and nodded her head. "You know what we should get to celebrate?"

"Malasadas?" He questioned.

* * *

Proton watched Lyra and rockruff devour their malasadas as he scrolled through the pokedex. The professor had went ahead and filled in up for them, very helpful since they had no clue what half of the pokemon in the region were.

"Apparently this little guy as two forms," Proton told Lyra, glancing at the puppy. "Lycanroc has a midday form, and a midnight form. Wonder which one you'll end up being?"

"Mom is going to be excited when I tell her about this. I think he makes a great addition to your team."

"Really?" Proton asked, putting the pokedex down to finish his malasadas. He really liked rockruff, but he didn't see how it was a fitting pokemon for him. It was cute and a great starter pokemon. The closest thing to that he had on his team was his slowpoke, and he only had that because Lyra gave to him as a birthday present.

He loved it, but still.

"Yeah, of course. Rockruff's are incredible loyal, just like you and your pokemon. It's a great pokemon for beginners because it's protective and brave, you can always depend on it. Same goes for you," Lyra told him and took another bite of food. "I know I'm always safe when I'm with you, even if we're in trouble, like when you grabbed my hand and ran off with me when that demon was chasing us earlier."

Proton stared at her, then looked down at his plate. Did she really mean all that?

"You're not who you were before, you know," she added, seeming to know what he was thinking.

"Yeah yeah," he brushed it off, ready to move on to a new topic. "Thanks,"

"Anytime! Since it's still early in the day, I think we should catch a ferry to the next island. It's a way bigger island and they have so much for tourists to do." Lyra suggested and Proton nodded his head.

* * *

"Heahea City, considered the front door to Akala Island," Lyra read from her brochure as they moved along the streets of the city. It was approaching night time now, the ferry had been delayed, and the street lamps were beginning to turn on with the soft orange skies above them not providing enough light. "We're staying at the Hano Grand Resort."

"That sounds insanely fancy," Proton muttered, rockruff at his feet.

"We're on vacation, Proton, we need to treat ourselves!" Lyra told him, following a sign pointing to the resort. "Don't you think we deserve it?"

"You definitely do," he told her, surprised she hadn't taken a vacation before this.

"And so do you for putting up with my schemes and adventures," she replied, ending the argument before it begin. Proton didn't really 'put up' with her, he thoroughly enjoyed her company even if it was odd at first.

"So what do we have planned at this resort?" He questioned, holding back a yawn.

"I figured once we got our stuff put away we could go explore the beach a bit, then maybe eat dinner if we were hungry again before going to sleep. Tomorrow I have more planned!" She exclaimed and Proton wasn't sure if he should be excited or worried.

Both was probably good.

"We'll get breakfast, go to the beach for a bit, then go snorkeling off the reefs and check out the sea life, then have lunch. I haven't thought past lunch yet, but I think I'm going to try some of these spa services? Would you be interested in trying some too?" She asked and he shrugged. "I'll let you look at the services after dinner then. There's a few other things I want to do too, so we have plenty of time."

"Whatever you want, doll," it was mostly her vacation after all. If getting wrapped up in seaweed would make her day, he would do it. "This is the place?" He questioned as they approached the resort.

He had been right.

It was insane.

The front of the hotel had fountains and pools, with walk-way bridges leading to the golf course and the beach, with palm trees everywhere. The lobby of the hotel had two giant fountains at the entrance with greeters everywhere, and the back wall had a large water feature too. There were water features everywhere.

"Man they're out of luck if those things stop working," Proton muttered, wondering how fast the place would flood.

"Oh wow…" Lyra said in awe, looking around at the massive size of the heavily decorated room. "This place is so nice….yeah I wonder how fast it would flood in here…" They both eyed each other before heading onto the check in desk.

Proton hung back and let Lyra handle it, continuing to look around. He picked up rockruff, not wanting him to get lost in such a massive place.

"So we go to the elevators and get off on the fourth floor. We're 213 and 215," she handed him his key and they headed up to the rooms. Rockruff broke out of Proton's hold once he opened his hotel room door and ran over to the window, jumping up to sit at the window sill.

"So much energy," he mumbled and shut the door, dropping his bag as he looked out the window, seeing the ocean as his view. Lyra was probably freaking out over this view in her room. He was surprised they had separate rooms, they shared one at the last hotel, but he wasn't going to say anything to her about it.

There was loud knocking at his door and he didn't bother looking through the peep hole to see who it was before he opened the door.

"My view is incredible!" Lyra said as he walked in, hurrying to the window to see Proton's view. "Isn't this insane!? Can you believe this?"

"It's beautiful," he shut the door and walked over to the window again. "Don't you have the same view since our rooms are next to each others?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to know what you thought about it. I know you're excited, you just don't show it. That's okay though, I show excitement enough for the both of us. I bet you're really excited, right boy?" Rockruff barked in reply. "Let's go check out the beach before it gets too dark! Race you!"

She and Rockruff were already out the door when Proton realized what was happening. He grabbed his room key and ran after them down the hallway, not making it to the elevators as they shut. He could hear Lyra laughing from inside of it and there was no way he was going to let her win. He took the stairs, racing into the lobby right as the elevator dinged.

"We got him good," Lyra was telling rockruff as she stepped into the lobby and looked towards the front desk.

"Got who good?" Proton questioned from behind, startling her.

"Mew! You scared me!" She exclaimed, turning to face him with a hand over her chest. "How did you beat us?"

"There are things called stairs," he nodded towards them before smirking. "I have long legs so it didn't take too long."

Lyra crossed her arms as he continued smirking at her. "Don't pout because I won. Technically, you cheated."

"It's not my fault you weren't paying attention. We've been friends for forever, you should be used to this by now," Lyra told him, heading towards the doors that led to the beach.

"Doll, I don't think I'll ever get used to it," he replied, heart still racing.


	3. Chapter 3

**I love Petrel okay he's like that really fun uncle**

* * *

Proton felt relief as the masseur kneaded his back. He never knew he needed a massage until twenty minutes ago when the masseur had started working all the knots out of his back.

"Your back is much better now," the masseur said, moving his hands to Proton's neck. "Your shoulders are tense."

"Every part of me is tense, you saw who I came here with, right?" He muttered into the towel, keeping his eyes closed. The past three days, while fun, had been a bit testing. "First I almost drown when diving because Lyra wanted to race around a coral reef and my fin got stuck," he insisted on taking air breathers with them after that incident. "Then when we went pokemon sighting that afternoon, a wailmer hit the boat and I almost fell off," Lyra had too, and he had to race to grab her before she fell into the choppy waters.

"Wailmers can be dangerous," his masseur murmured.

"The second day we went exploring around the island which led us to almost falling off of every single cliff because her sense of direction is awful." They had gone to Wela Volcano Park, which was enjoyable because he caught an Alolan cubone and it was nice to see such a cool place, but it was also stressful because of all the ledges and cliffs that were just waiting for someone to run off of them. "Then earlier today she buried me in sand while I napped and it took two hours for her to uncover me."

"Sounds like an interesting vacation," the masseur chuckled and kept working his shoulders. "She seems like a fun girlfriend to have."

"She's—" Proton was going to correct him and tell him she definitely wasn't his girlfriend, but at that moment someone walked through the door.

"Geez, Proton, you look like a ditto, all melted and sprawled out," she joked, and Proton lifted his head up and looked at her. Lyra was wrapped in seaweed, her masseuse came into the room, probably having to chase after the champion.

Only Lyra would be able to out run someone while she was wrapped like a mummy in seaweed.

"And you're what a Cofagrigus probably looks like on the inside," he muttered, looking her over. "Aren't you supposed to be taking a mud bath?" He asked.

"I'm doing the seaweed wrap before it! You should do it too, it feels great and it's so good for the skin!" Lyra beamed. "Oooh, and they do services for pokemon! I got houndoom, arcanine and rockruff, into a grooming session so they can have their fur brushed until it sparkles and get their nails trimmed."

"That's actually nice, thanks. Houndoom loves to be groomed," Proton propped himself up by his elbows. "You look ridiculous. Are you even supposed to be in here?"

"No, but I wanted to see how you were doing and to show you this seaweed wrap! Drew, make sure Proton gets one too! Alrighty Amelia, let's hit the mud bath!" She exclaimed, wobbling out of the room as fast as she could with the worker behind her.

"Do you see why I really need a spa day?" Proton asked as he laid back down. Drew only laughed in response.

* * *

"You two look great," Proton told houndoom and rockruff as the groomer let them out of the styling room and they ran over to him. "You two are so spoiled," he scratched their chins as arcanine came running out of the groomer's. He knocked Proton over, accidentally of course, in his excitement.

"You're just like your trainer, you know that?" He asked from his spot on the ground. The pokemon wagged his tail and whined, leaning down so Proton could wrap his arms around its neck and helped him up. "Speaking of your trainer, where has she run off to?" They were supposed to meet at the groomers and go get dinner, but he didn't see her anywhere. "She's probably getting some insane spa treatment," he told the pokemon and sat on the bench near the building. The groomers was near the hotel on a nice street with a view of the ocean, so at least he had a nice view while he waited.

He had ended up getting the seaweed wrap and it was surprisingly nice. In the past he would hate to be constricted and unable to move easily, but now he had Lyra hanging off his arm or hugging him and he was starting to get used to the feeling. Being wrapped up wasn't all that bad, he blamed his dislike of it on his years of being a Rocket. You always needed an escape plan, and being unable to move made escaping difficult.

Proton didn't need to worry about having an escape plan now, not that he could ever escape Lyra, even if he wanted to. She was persistent, what else would you call a girl who managed to befriend a criminal she took down? And she didn't just befriend him, she carved out a permanent space for her in his life. His neighbors loved her, his pokemon loved her, hell, he was pretty sure he loved her, but how could someone not love Lyra?

"Sorry I'm late!" Lyra's voice broke him from his thoughts and he looked up to see her hurrying towards him. Her arcanine jumped up and ran over to her, almost knocking her over in his excitement. "Awaahh, you look so good! We'll have to battle soon so I can show you off!"

"After dinner?" Proton questioned as his stomach rubbled. She wasn't going to make him trek across the sand and battle people on an empty stomach, right?

"Definitely after dinner!" Lyra exclaimed, rubbing her stomach. "I'm so hungry! We'll eat and then go battle to unwind," she called her pokemon back into his ball as Proton stood, leaving houndoom and rockruff out since they were smaller and not so excitable. "I think I'm ready for a new island."

"Already?" Proton asked as they started walking down the road to the busier part of the town where most of the restaurants were.

"I really want to go see the Malie Gardens, I'm super impatient. We can always come back here if we want! Oh, oh, and there's this old abandoned supermarket on Ula'ula Island too! It was destroyed by one of the region's legendary pokemon and they say it's haunted! We need to check it out, gengar will love it!" She continued, talking about her ghost pokemon. He was in her original party and now mostly stayed at home with her mother, but she was eager to use him again for a few battles. "I want to try and catch some new pokemon and there's supposed to be this super scary one that hides in the building?"

"You won't scream at everything, right doll?" Proton asked and she pouted at him. Lyra was fearless, she would leap into things head first, but that didn't mean she didn't get scared.

"I get startled easily, I can't help that," Lyra told him over her shoulder, taking the lead of their little group. Proton look downed at houndoom, who looked back up at him, both exchanging the same look. Rockruff looked back and forth, a little confused.

"You'll learn with time, buddy," Proton told him, stomach grumbling again. "Where are we going to eat?"

"You know where," Lyra said with a shit eating smirk as they stopped in front a small restaurant.

"Malasada," they both said in unison, however, Lyra sounded far more excited than Proton did.

* * *

"Bone club," Proton ordered his newly caught cubone, who took down the challenger's pokemon with the attack, making a quick end to the battle. "Great job," he told cubone, trying to win him over, then shook the other trainers hand before they left, hurrying to the pokemon center with their pokemon.

"Alrighty! Give 'em the old one two!" Lyra exclaimed, punching the air, imitating her primeape's movements.

Lyra's battle style was very much a reflection of her personality. She could be animated, moving around and expressing herself fully, but she could also be quiet, almost reserved, in the midst of a heavy battle, only saying commands, or compliments to her pokemon to let them know she was there and they weren't alone.

The style depended on her opponent.

Proton remembered how encouraging Lyra was to her pokemon during their first battle together at the bottom of the well, and he remembered how irritating he found it to be. Yet, they beat him. The second time they battled, she was calculating every move and didn't speak unless she needed to and once again, she beat him.

With Petrel, as the purple haired man had told Proton one night when they had gotten together after the fall of Team Rocket, Lyra had been animated and almost playful in the battle. Petrel explained that it was like she didn't take him seriously, but that he couldn't really be upset because it had been a great battle and it made him want to root for her.

Proton had complained that night to his old coworker about Lyra seeking him out, how annoying she was and how she had to have something up her sleeve.

" _What could a girl like that want with a guy like me?" He muttered, taking a bite of one of his fries, hunched over the bar they were sitting at. "What does she see in me?"_

" _Haha, probably what you don't see," Petrel replied, patting his back playfully. "Don't let the past hold you back, that stuff is all over now. You should be happy that such a strong girl wants to hang around you, unless you really do find her annoying?" Petrel questioned and when Proton glared at the basket of fries in front of him, he laughed harder. "She's just what you need right now, give her a chance."_

Proton really hated how Petrel gave really good advice. Of course, after that conversation Petrel demanded Proton bring Lyra out to eat one night so he could see her again to say sorry for what they had done. Petrel's and Lyra's first meet up wasn't awkward like Proton's and Lyra's first meet up was, but between two goofballs, Proton wasn't expecting a lot of tension, and there wasn't any.

When Proton mentioned to Petrel that he was going on vacation with Lyra, the male was all jokes, making Proton questioned why he told him in the first place.

"Nice going!" Lyra high fived her primeape, who seemed happy for once, after she shook hands with the challenger and they went on their way. Proton had never seen such a happy primeape before he met Lyra's, but that wasn't too surprising. "How was that?"

"Primeape was amazing, like usual," Proton complimented the pokemon, who nodded at the praise. It took a while for Lyra's pokemon to warm up to him, but he guessed Lyra had talked to them about her seeking him out, because primeape had never punched him (even though Proton was pretty sure he deserved it).

She recalled the pokemon with a few more encouraging words before she sighed, turning to look at the ocean. "Those battles were so fun, it was nice to be so casual. How did you do in battle?" She asked, crouching down to be at the same level as cubone.

"He did great, a natural battler," Proton replied, making the cubone embarrassed.

"It's cool how he looks like Kanto or Johto cubone's, but his evolved form will look wayyyy different than our's," Lyra said as Proton returned the pokemon to its ball for the night.

"He's a good addition to the team," Proton nodded his head as Lyra begin walking down the beach, kicking up sand with her bare feet.

"Oh yes, he has that brooding nature about him," she said and giggled when she saw the look on Proton's face. "You know I'm kidding, but for real, rockruff is the nicest looking pokemon you have, besides slowpoke, but he could get mean looking if you get his midnight form when he evolves."

"Nothing is wrong with my team."

"You know that's not what I meant and you know I love your pokemon just like they were my own pokemon," she replied. "What I'm saying is your team suits you really well. You know how some people have pokemon that are just so perfect for them? Like Ethan has an Aipom, or Petrel with his koffing, they're just perfect matches. Your whole team matches you so well, it's really cool."

"You think? Sometimes I feel like my team is kinda stereotypical for a guy like me," Proton confessed, looking out at the ocean. "Not so much cool and more like 'of course you have those pokemon, you are an ex-criminal' kind of feeling. I love them and I wouldn't change them, but that's how I feel sometimes."

"No!" Lyra exclaimed and grabbed his hand, directing his attention back to her. "Proton! Don't ever think like that, okay? Your team is super cool, just like you. They fit you because you have a calmer personality, someone who calculates the moves out and plans accordingly and has ambitions and brains. When you face a problem, you solve it, you don't whine or complain, you just do it. Your face doesn't betray how you feel inside, you can hold your own in a fight, you're honest even when it's difficult to be. You're protective and thoughtful. You're a loner, but the friendships you have are deep rooted and true. That's why your team fits you." She pressed the index finger of her free hand to his chest, locking eyes with him. "Your past does not define you."

Proton stared at her, fixated by the determination in her eyes. She believed in everything she said, 100%, and she wasn't going to stop saying it until Proton believed it 100% too. He had no clue when that day would come, but he knew she wasn't about to give up.

"If anyone treats you like a criminal, tell me and I'll take care of it," Lyra said with a firm nod before she continued walking, keeping her hand linked with Proton's.

"Thank you, Lyra," he said quietly, wondering if the ocean drowned out his words until Lyra squeezed his hand in reply.

* * *

"This is going to be great!" Lyra exclaimed once they stepped off the ferry on Ula'ula Island. "The professor is supposed to be in the library, but we can talk to him later. First comes the gardens! They were inspired by the Johto region, you know? It'll be really cool to see what our region inspired."

Lyra dragged Proton to the gardens, only stopping when the entrance was blocked off.

"Hm, closed for maintenance?" Proton questioned when he read the sign. "Oh, I think I saw on the news today that all the bridges were getting updated with new planks. The gardens have had a lot of visitors lately and they want to make sure the bridges can hold up."

"Guess we will be seeing the professor now," Lyra mumbled, disappointed.

"Least we'll get to explore the town first off," Proton tried to cheer her up, knocking their shoulders together. "Don't be upset, we'll go tomorrow. Besides, look at this entire city, doesn't it look familiar?"

Lyra looked around, taking in the architect of the city. "It reminds me of back home, I didn't realize the whole city was inspired by Johto. Guess I was too focused on getting to the gardens that I missed all of this. I need to slow down," she sighed.

"And you know what else you missed?" Proton questioned and looked behind them. "A malasada shop."

"Whattttttttt! How could I miss the overwhelming scent of a fresh malasada?" She asked him and he shrugged, wondering the same thing.

"Tragic," he joked and she lightly punched him arm. "C'mon, we can go see the professor then head to that abandoned thriftymart that you wanted to go to," he suggested and this perked her up even more.

"Let's get to the library!" She exclaimed and they were off again, this time much slower so they could enjoy the city around them.

"So the professor's cousin lives here?" Proton asked while they walked through the city, following the signs for the library.

"Yeah, Samson Oak. Blue says he looks just like Professor Oak, weird right?" Lyra questioned and Proton nodded his head. Two professor Oaks? No thanks. "Ah, this should be it. I doubt they're in here, that couldn't possibly spend all day every day in here," Lyra said and pushed the door to the library open.

"There are a lot of books," Proton looked up at the high ceilings and the largeness of the room. He had never been in a library this big before, not like he's been in many libraries, though.

The both of them explored the first floor, then the second floor, but couldn't find them.

"Oh well, worth a try, right?" Lyra questioned as they went down the stairs to the first floor again.

"Lyra! I didn't expect you to make it to this island so quickly," they looked in front of them once they reached the floor to see professor Oak standing next to a man that looked just like him, just with darker skin and longer hair.

"Oh…oh my mew…" Lyra whispered so only Proton could hear.

"Keep it together…." He replied, knowing he could hold back his laughter, but Lyra might not be able to.

"This is my cousin, Samson Oak! Samson, this is Lyra, the champion of the Johto region, and her friend, Proton," professor Oak said, introducing them to one another. "I guess you saw that the gardens were closed for today?"

"Yeah, but Proton and I decided to explore the rest of the island and do the gardens tomorrow. I just wanted to come see you and say hi! We'll let you two get back to your books. I'll see you later, professor," she waved and Proton took her hand and pulled her out of the library.

"Why did they look the same!?" Proton questioned once they were a block away from the library. "I swear we just saw the Alolan version of professor Oak!"

"You're right!" Lyra laughed, hunching over. "I can't believe Blue didn't prepare me better for that! Proton I was so close to laughing, just for the fact that Samson was literally the Alolan Oak. I can't believe this," Lyra kept laughing, which made Proton laugh too.

The two stood on the sidewalk laughing about it for five minutes before Proton was finally able to compose himself, and Lyra wiped a few tears from her eyes. Her cheeks were red from laughter and her smile was breathless, out of air from how hard she laughed.

They smiled at each other before they begin laughing again.


	4. Chapter 4

**I had wanted to finish this before summer ended up then I got Persona 5 and everything changed oops sorry for such a delay. Like persona really took over my life, and dragon age. I really missed this pairing tho, I'm tempted to rewrite a few older stories with them in it**

* * *

"Oh, I didn't realize their pokemon league was here too," Lyra said as they stood in Tapu Village after flying in on their ride pager pokemon. "We should head up there after hitting up the thrifty mart! I want to meet the champion."

"Sounds fine to me, sure you won't be scared?" Proton questioned while Lyra doubled checked her map before starting the walk to the abandoned building.

"I'm tough!" Lyra exclaimed, patting her chest. "I've done way scarier things before, besides, it'll just be filled with gastlys and haunters." Proton raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything else as they made their way to the abandoned building. He noticed that the closer they got to it, the closer Lyra got to him. "Doll, if you're scared, we can turn around." He said and she frowned at him. Stubborn as always. "Fine, let's get in here and check it out."

They got to the door, but it was locked. Lyra turned to look at him. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bobby pin, handing it over to him. Proton nudged her out of the way, quickly making work of the lock with the bobby pin. Once it was unlocked he slid open the door, looking into the dusty store.

"This is why I keep you around," Lyra smiled at him, taking her bobby pin back from him.

"So I can help you break into places?" Proton asked with a straight face, knowing she was joking.

"It's too much work to break into places myself," she hurried into the store, ready to face whatever awaited them.

Lyra had been right, it was mostly pokemon they had already seen before. The first few tricks they pulled on them had scared Lyra, but after a while she got used to them and found them more funny than scary.

"Oh, hey," Lyra saw a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye and turned to see a Pikachu run down the aisle. "There's a Pikachu in here!"

"A Pikachu?" Proton questioned, confused as to why a pikachu of all pokemon would be in the store. "It's probably another prank."

"Maybe, but…" Lyra went down the aisle the Pikachu went down, not seeing it anywhere. There was a door at the end of the aisle, cracked just enough for a pokemon to get through. She heard a pokemon call out to her and she opened the door before Proton could stop her. "Oh."

"What is it?" Proton walked up behind her and they both stared at this strange looking pokemon. "Lyra, that's not a Pikachu," he said, looking at pokemon. It was dressed up like a Pikachu? He wasn't sure why though.

"Mimikyu, the disguise pokemon. A lonely Pokemon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other pokemon," Lyra's pokedex said as the pokemon—Mimikyu—continued to stare at them.

"It's adorable," Lyra put her pokedex in her pocket and Proton could feel the determination radiating off of her.

She was going to catch this pokemon.

Her idea of cute had always been a bit off.

"Alrighty, Mimikyu! I challenge you to a battle. If I win, you join my team and become my pokemon—" Lyra started but the mimikyu trotted over and sat next to her leg, looking up at her with its drawn on eyes. "Uh, what?"

"I think it wants to join you, without a battle," Proton said, also looking down at the pokemon. It was so strange, even for him.

"But I…" Lyra trailed off as the pokemon kept staring at her. She wanted to see what it could do while she battled it, but this could work too. "Do you just want to skip the battle and join me?" She asked and it nodded its head, fake ears flapping about. She pulled an empty pokeball off her belt and clicked the center, letting the red light capture Mimikyu and pull it into the pokeball. The ball only shook once in her palm before it clicked.

"That was easy," Proton said while Lyra stared at the pokeball. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I am! I just got a new pokemon!" She called Mimikyu back out and carefully picked it up. "Alright, Mimikyu, my name is Lyra, and this is Proton. We're from another region and we're here traveling. I'm so happy to have you on my team!"

The mimikyu cheered back at her, almost imitating her pitch.

Okay, maybe the pokemon wasn't that strange. The more he looked at it, the cuter it got.

"We should go to the pokemon league now, before it gets too late," Lyra let Proton lead them out, still holding mimikyu in her arms. It was swaying its head back and forth, looking content to finally have a trainer. "Afterwards we'll have to see what you can do it battle, little guy. You're just so cute!" She hugged the pokemon who let out another string of cheerful noises.

* * *

"She's not here?" Lyra questioned, looking at the secretary in the lobby.

"Sorry Ms. Lyra, she's taken the next few days off. I think she's going to be on Poni Island, at the Battle Tree. You might be able to find her there," the man said and Lyra groaned.

"Now we gotta go see Red and Blue and watch them flirt with each other," she rolled her eyes, slowly making her way back to the entrance. "When are they going to get together and stop torturing me?"

"I'm sure torturing you is their intention," Proton said dryly.

"I told you, they're like my older brothers. They love to embarrass me. You know this, you've seen them do it!"

"Doll, to be fair, I've seen you embarrass yourself plenty of times," Proton joked and was smacked in the arm for it, Lyra sticking her tongue out at him. Lyra was so dramatic. "You act enough like them for you to be their little sister."

"Everyone says that, guess I'm just the combined best traits of the two of them?" Lyra winked at him and Proton rolled his eyes.

"Or the worse," he teased, loving how riled up she got. "Relax, relax, you know I was just teasing you," he put his hands off to block off any incoming blows. "You know I think you're perfect the way you are, doll," he added, watching as the tips of her ears went pink from his comment. He hadn't meant to say it, it just slipped out, but her flustered face was worth any embarrassment he was feeling from saying it out loud.

Lyra mumbled something under breath and pushed the door open, both leaving the Pokemon League. "I guess we can hit up the Observatory too today, since we're over here, then go get some dinner. Hopefully Malie Gardens will be opened tomorrow!"

* * *

"YES! Lyra cheered when she saw that the gardens were open the next morning. Proton followed her as they explored the gardens, looking at all the new pokemon and watching a few battles amongst the other tourists.

"This place is something else," Proton murmured, looking around. His eyes stopped on a bridge lined with trainers, with one older man at the end of the bridge. "That bridge kind of reminds me of Nugget Bridge back in Kanto. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Oh, wow, it sure does," Lyra replied, eying the bridge as well. "I'm goin' give it a whirl!" She said and hurried over to it with Proton close behind. A little boy stood at the entrance, looking ready to explain the bridge.

"People call this Nugget Bridge! Beat us five trainers and win a fabulous prize!" He exclaimed with a big smile. "Think you've got what it takes?"

"Hm, doll, you sure you've got what it takes?" Proton questioned with a smirk, glancing at her before looking at the young trainers she would have to battle. Lyra could clear through all of them with just her Typhlosion if she wanted to. "Go easy on them."

"I don't know, five trainers in a row is awfully tough," she replied and shrugged, checking out the trainers. The little boy looked at her smugly as she walked to the first trainer. The second she locked eyes with him, he lit up.

"We call Malie Garden Nugget Garden! Beat us five trainers and win a fabulous prize!" He exclaimed and Lyra nodded her head, ready to call out Mimikyu. They had battled a lot together yesterday and Lyra loved the pokemon to pieces already. Lyra really was planning to go easy on them, to use a new pokemon and not one of her original pokemon to crush them in one move, but then the boy got a haughty look in his eyes, almost looking down on her as he said, "think you got what it takes?"

She looked back at Proton and he could see it in her eyes.

She was going to crush them.

"Typhlosion! Let's show them what we're made of!" She called as she threw out her starter's pokeball. The pokemon emerged and growled, ready to beat down anyone that stood in its trainer's ways.

"What a temper," Proton muttered, watching as Lyra made quick work of the boy's caterpie and weedle. It wasn't as if the boy was weak, because he wasn't, but Typhlosion was stronger, and had the type advantage. The battle was over in two turns and Lyra shook her head as the boy tried to give her money.

This process repeated for the next four battles. Lyra would swear to herself that she was going to use mimikyu, to go easy on these trainers, but each trainer was just as smug as the last and Lyra regretted even starting the challenge. It reminded her too much of her starting days years ago, when older trainers looked down on her and her tiny cyndaquil. Still, she shook their hands and refused their money, feeling a bit bad that she knocked their pokemon out with one hit.

When she got to the end, the older man stood there, smiling at her.

"Congratulations! You beat our five contest trainers! You just earned a fabulous prize!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a big gold nugget and handed it to Lyra. "By the way, would you like to join Team Rocket?"

Lyra was putting up her nugget when he said this and she froze, nugget almost slipping out of her hands.

"We're a group dedicated to evil using pokemon! Want to Join?"

Lyra slowly looked up at him, gaze icy as she locked eyes with him. "What?" she asked, dropping the nugget into her bag. He wanted her to join Team Rocket? There was no way Team Rocket had risen again, she made sure of that.

But, what if they had? What about Proton? Were they going to try and recruit him again? She knew he would say no, she knew it, but what if they hurt him because he refused? What if he ran off to hide and she never saw him again? What if—

"Come on, join us! Looks like you need convincing," the man said and brought Lyra out of her thoughts. He threw out a pokemon and Lyra shook, filled with rage.

"I'll crush you!" She exclaimed, calling out her arcanine. She wasted no time in the battle and he barely got one hit in before both of his pokemon were knocked out.

"You're good! With your ability, you could become a top leader in Team Rocket!" He exclaimed as he called back his pokemon. Arcanine growled as a hand rested on Lyra's shoulder.

"What did you just say, grunt?" Proton's questioned in a harsh tone, standing behind Lyra. The older man looked at Proton with a confused face until he saw past the colorful outfit and the sunglasses and realized who Proton was. Proton's hand squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, before letting go.

"E-executive Proton?!" He took a step back in shock and in fear. "W-What are you doing here?!"

"I'm on vacation, besides, I don't think you're in the position to be asking me questions, are you?" Proton asked and Lyra glanced up at him, seeing the look of fury in his eyes. One glare was all it took to send any grunt into a fit of panic and fear, but she wasn't scared of it, not when he was defending her with it. "Why the hell are you here, trying to enlist people into Team Rocket?"

"I-I was just kidding!" He held his shaky hands up, shaking his head. "I wasn't really going to enlist her! I know Team Rocket is gone!"

"It is gone, thanks to her," Proton looked at Lyra then back to the man. "You didn't even realize you were talking to the current Johto and Kanto champion, did you? The very girl who took down Team Rocket?"

Lyra glared at the man and he looked even more afraid now, as he should.

"I want you to leave our sight, now, and if you ever try to pull a 'joke' like this again, you're going to regret it. Team Rocket is dead. Forever. Now scram!" Proton raised his voice and the man took off, almost tripping. The trainers on the bridge hurried off too, afraid of them.

They stood there in silence until Proton nudged Lyra, directing her attention towards a tea shop a little ways off. They went and got tea and snacks, and sat a table, still in silence, drinking and eating.

Proton kept stealing looks at her, trying to figure out what was going through her head. Finally he broke down and sighed, getting her attention. "You know…you know I would never go back, right?" He questioned, meeting her brown eyes. Maybe she was worried about that? It hurt a bit, to think that Lyra would think he would return to that lifestyle, but he couldn't blame her for thinking that.

"What?" Lyra asked, eyes wide as she stared at Proton. She could see the hurt and worry in his eyes and she was hit with a sense of guilt. "Oh, no no no! Proton no. I would never think that! I'm sorry I just," she could feel tears at the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away quickly. "When he said Team Rocket all I could think about was them hurting you because you refuse to join or you running off to get away from them and I would never see you again!"

"Lyra, hey," Proton came around to her side of the table and sat next to her on the booth, trying to comfort her. Crying people weren't his strong suit, but he wanted to comfort her in anyway he could. "They aren't back, and even if they were, I wouldn't hide and I wouldn't let them hurt me. I'd help take them down, I promise," He let her hug him and she pressed her face against his chest.

He wanted to track that man down and make him pay for what he did, but he pushed that urge down. He wasn't like that anymore. He scared him enough.

"I'm sorry I just—" Lyra sniffed, hugging him tightly. "You're my best friend Proton, I wanna be able to protect you. I don't know what I'd do if they hurt you."

"They won't hurt me, they won't hurt either of us," Proton said, hugging her back. Like hell he'd let anyone hurt her. "He was just some washed up grunt stuck in the past. They won't come back, and even if they did, we'd take them down together." He rubbed her back as she begin to calm down. "I promise."

"Thank you," Lyra mumbled, pulling away and rubbing her face, knowing she looked like a mess now. She felt so embarrassed, crying in the middle of a tea shop, but it was a lot weighing on her. Sometimes she still had nightmares about Team Rocket, about Proton joining them again, about everything they built between them disappearing.

"I mean it, Lyra," Proton said, looking into her eyes. He wanted her to know that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, that he would remain by her side for as long as she wanted him there. He didn't know how to verbally say everything he wanted to say, so he hoped his eyes said it all.

"Thank you," Lyra whispered, her eyes filled with love and understanding and hope, all the things that made Proton feel like he could do this. He could be good. He was worthy to stand next to her. "I'm goin' run to the bathroom to clean myself up. I'm sure I look a mess," she joked and stood, smiling at him before she went off in the direction of the bathroom.

Proton looked after her and then looked back at the table. He picked up his cup of tea and sipped it, looking out over the garden. Arcanine was resting in the grass next to their table and stretched out when Proton reached down to scratch his ear with his free hand. Arcanine used to hate him and wouldn't stop growling at him when Proton first reentered Lyra's life, but now he deemed Proton safe and was much friendlier towards him.

"It really reminds me of home here," Lyra said as she approached the table, taking the same seat as before. "I wonder what the other islands are like."

"Already ready to move on to the other islands?" Proton asked, finishing up his tea. Lyra was about to respond when he phone started to go off.

"Helllooo?" She answered, looking at Proton.

"Where are you? Red and I have been waiting for you," Green replied loud enough that Proton could hear him too. "The champion is here too."

"Where? What are you talking about?" Lyra questioned, furrowing her brows.

"The champion, girl your age, about your height. You talked about meeting her the whole trip here. She's at the battle tree on Poni Island, waiting for you," Green replied casually, chuckling when he heard Lyra sputter on her own words.

"W-What!? Right now?!" She stood up, almost knocking the table over. "Proton, we need to go to Poni Island right now! Tell her I'll be there soon!" She hung up and stuck her phone back in her pocket. "Proton!"

"Alright alright, calm down doll, let's get to Poni Island."


End file.
